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How can brands grow beyond price competition?
Evidence and cases on product strategy, category innovation, marketing, and channel coordination in China’s consumer market.
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4701 articles · Page 35 of 196
This Generation of Consumers Turns Its Back on Carbonated Drinks
The carbonated beverage market, which has seen steady growth for decades, is facing a downturn in 2023 due to slowing demand, health concerns, and changing consumer preferences. To break through, brands must innovate with low-sugar and functional products, adopt diverse marketing strategies, and adapt to new distribution channels.
李佳蔓Leveraging Sports Marketing: How ChouBao Luosifen Boosts Product Sell-Through
What makes a good product? This is a question many distributors ponder. New Distribution observes that while hundreds of thousands of FMCG products launch annually, few survive market tests. Today's market demands more than shelf presence; it requires strong sell-through power. ChouBao Luosifen, through sports marketing collaborations like with People's Sports, enhances product appeal via distinctive packaging, gold medal prizes, and emotional connections, activating broader consumer groups and establishing a 'scenario' sell-through model.
田静Small Bottle Baijiu Declines, While Bottled Baijiu Rises
The heartfelt slogans of youth-oriented small bottle baijiu brands like Jiangxiaobai still echo, but how long has it been since you last had a small bottle? After the 2012 'alcohol ban', the baijiu sector entered a deep adjustment. During the industry's confusion, Jiangxiaobai emerged, attracting major baijiu companies to follow the youth, fashion, personality, and fun route of small bottle baijiu. At that time, it was widely believed that Jiangxiaobai could crack the rigid baijiu market and represent the industry in embracing young people, making small bottles a mainstream form. However, just a few years later, Jiangxiaobai's myth faded, and the entire small bottle market nearly collapsed. In the previous industry recovery focused on high-end products, small bottles were pushed into a corner. In contrast, bottled baijiu (guangping jiu), emphasizing quality and value for money and aligning with the consumption downgrade trend, became a market hotspot.
陈碧婷Tang Guangliang of Ailingshi: Discount snack stores are not a 'cutting leeks' model, but will achieve a chain of 10,000 stores
Discount snack stores will not disappear within the next decade, as they are becoming an indispensable part of daily life. Despite concerns about 'cutting leeks', high closure rates, and low margins, the model has the potential for a 10,000-store chain, with supply chain optimization and the continued value of distributors.
爱零食Zhong Xuegao and Others Are Revealing Their True Colors...
For a time, investors favored consumer brands, but the logic has shifted. Zhong Xuegao, once hugely popular, is now embroiled in a wage arrears scandal, signaling its decline. The new consumer trend is 'consumption downgrading,' where affordability is key, as seen with Luckin Coffee, Manner, and Pinduoduo. Companies must adapt to this reality or face elimination.
凤来仪China's 100-Billion-Bottle Water Industry: A Hidden War
Chen Xiaojing, have you noticed that there are more and more bottled water products on store shelves, with traditional brands holding steady and new brands emerging constantly. Especially as the summer drinking water peak season approaches, the battle for shelf space in major supermarkets is about to erupt. The bottled water business is characterized by high gross margins and high-frequency demand, attracting terminal merchants, distributors, and bottled water companies to come and go with satisfaction each year. The success of bottled water sales is closely related to a company's control over water sources. Major brands are locked in intense competition upstream for water sources, with frequent reports of land grabs. China's four major high-quality water source regions—the southwest, Changbai Mountain, the Pearl River Delta, and the Yangtze River Delta—are already crowded with mainstream bottled water companies. In some scarce and high-quality water source locations, a situation of multiple brands and companies coexisting has formed.
陈晓京Jinduoduo Food Group: World's Top 100 Confectionery Company Co-creating a New Candy Market with You
Human society has quietly transitioned from the information age to the VUCA era, and China's economy has fully entered a phase of low growth. Amid the health trend, consumers increasingly emphasize less sugar, reduced sugar, or even sugar-free diets. Despite this sugar-reduction trend posing a major obstacle to confectionery companies, Jinduoduo Food, founded nearly 19 years ago, has bucked the trend, expanding its global market share and becoming a leading Chinese candy exporter, with products sold in over 50 countries and regions, and being the only mainland Chinese brand on Candy Industry's '2023 Global Top 100 Confectionery Companies' list.
金多多食品集团5 Steps to Launch a Blockbuster Product with Strong Perception Marketing
A strong brand is built on a blockbuster product. This article shares a 5-step method to successfully launch a blockbuster product, emphasizing the importance of leveraging your own strengths, finding a true opportunity category, creating strong perception differentiation, and systematically testing and iterating.
太白锦成Moutai is turning itself into cooking wine
With two co-branded products in a month, netizens joke that Moutai is turning itself into cooking wine, adding a drop to anything to boost its value. The latest Moutai Xiaoling liqueur chocolates cost nearly 20 yuan each, ten times more than regular Dove chocolates, making them unaffordable for many. Unlike the sauce-flavored latte that went viral earlier this month, this collaboration has not sparked much buzz on social media.
让商业更具价值County Town Snack Discount Stores: Fast Rise, Fast Fall, Declining from Day One
Snack discount stores, marketed as low-priced and affordable, have become the top trend in county towns. Wang Shuo, who has lived in a fourth-tier city for over thirty years, suddenly finds his town transformed into a maze of Zhao Yiming Snacks, with two stores on his 2-kilometer commute. Despite the bustling crowds and his initial interest in franchising, a nearby store's "for lease" sign snaps him back to reality, highlighting that while everyone says these stores are profitable, not everyone can succeed. The article also details the struggles of a husband-and-wife shop owner facing competition from a Tang Chao store, a cashier at a Snacks Busy franchise dealing with low pay and high workload, and a mother frustrated by her daughter's obsession with a Snacks Youming store, all illustrating the rapid rise and fall of these discount stores in county towns.
五环外事务所A Bowl of Space-Quality Chinese Noodles: Master Kong's National Heritage and Flavor Leadership
The article explores how Master Kong, as a leading FMCG brand, has partnered with China's space program for seven years to develop 'space-quality' instant noodles, showcasing its commitment to innovation, food safety, and cultural heritage, while also highlighting its efforts in youth education and sustainable development.
市值观察The 40-Billion-Yuan Craft Beer Market Is Getting Too Crowded
As daytime hours are filled with work, nighttime becomes precious personal time for many office workers, who often start their evening by going to a restaurant or bar for a beer. This demand has led to a proliferation of small pubs and brought the once-niche craft beer into broader view. However, the craft beer industry is now in a state of 'chaos' as the market's growth rate lags far behind the surge in new entrants, leading to intense competition.
齐敏倩Li Ke: Ten Insights into the Second Half of New Consumer Products
Layoffs, store closures, capital retreat... 2022 has been bleak for new consumer brands. As the industry enters its second half, it has shifted from wild growth to a period of transformation. In Li Ke's view, despite market uncertainties, new consumer products remain a star in the night sky and a glimmer in the darkness. No winter lasts forever; as the烟火气 (vitality) returns, new consumer products are poised to rise from the trough. At the 5th China FMCG Conference, we were honored to have Mr. Li Ke...
李克Bestore Exits Zhao Yiming, but the Battle for Bulk Snacks Is Far from Over
Bestore invested 45 million yuan and earned 60 million yuan in half a year, exiting its investment in bulk snack brand Zhao Yiming quickly. This short-term, high-return investment highlights the still-hot bulk snack track. Exiting Zhao Yiming does not mean Bestore is giving up on the bulk snack sector; its incubated brand 'Snack Wanjia' has taken shape, focusing on its home market in Hubei with plans to open 500 stores this year. In just a few years, major bulk snack brands, backed by capital, have been rapidly expanding nationwide through franchising, with leading players surpassing 1,000 stores each. Yet, no national leader has truly emerged, and the war over affordable snacks is far from over.
任建新What Are the Key Levers Between Suppliers and Brand Owners in Digital Transformation?
This article, written from the perspective of a brand owner, is aimed at system suppliers dedicated to channel digital transformation services. Based on nearly four years of consulting experience assisting six large and medium-sized brand owners in channel digital transformation—from bidding, research, methodology, to implementation—it focuses on how system suppliers can better serve brand owners' digital transformation, while also illustrating what channel digital tools brand owners actually need.
高级研究员 海游Xin Chao Media Zeng Jian: Bouncing Back from the Bottom, Practical Cases of Brand Growth
Zeng Jian, co-founder and senior vice president of Xin Chao Media Group, delivered a keynote speech titled 'Bouncing Back from the Bottom: Practical Cases of Brand Growth' to over 1,500 industry professionals. New Distribution has compiled the essence of his speech for readers, covering how to navigate economic cycles and achieve counter-trend growth.
曾健Global First Bottled Red Bull Launches in China, Tianshan Red Bull Adds Another Piece to Its China Market Strategy
Bottled Red Bull is likely to become the second growth curve for Red Bull. Recently, Tianshan Red Bull launched the world's first bottled Red Bull product in the Chinese market—Red Bull® Energy Drink—and announced a new brand ambassador on September 26, drawing industry attention. As the founder and owner of the global Red Bull brand and trademark, Tianshan Group continues to enrich the Red Bull product matrix, from the classic gold can Red Bull® Vitamin Flavor Drink, to the 2022 launch of the new "0 Sugar Flavored Red Bull® Vitamin Energy Drink," and now the heavyweight launch of the world's first bottled Red Bull® Energy Drink...
冯瑶Adopt-a-Cow's 400 Millionth Bottle of A2 β-Casein Milk Rolls Off the Line, Emerging Brand Accelerates Omnichannel Expansion
Adopt-a-Cow held its 2023 customer conference at its Kanghong Ranch in Gucheng County, Hebei Province, where the group standard for A2 β-casein milk, drafted by the company, passed technical review. The company also celebrated the production of its 400 millionth bottle of A2 β-casein milk at its new Hebei manufacturing base, marking a milestone in its full-industry-chain layout and its commitment to expanding offline channels.
小牛China Resources Beer's Hou Xiaohai Exclusive: Rebuilding Enterprise Capabilities to Create a New FMCG World
At the 5th China FMCG Conference and 1st China FMCG Distributor Conference, Hou Xiaohai, Chairman of China Resources Beer, shared insights on rebuilding enterprise capabilities in the new world, drawing from CR Beer's transformations and strategies. He emphasized the need to adapt to a fundamentally changed consumer landscape.
侯孝海Weilong Launches New 'Little Witch' Konjac Vegan Tripe, Stirring Up a New Trend in the Konjac Products Track!
As a pioneer in the konjac snack category, Weilong continues to lead the new trend in konjac leisure snacks. The leisure snack industry is undergoing an unprecedented revolution, with channel changes at the forefront, followed by supply chain transformations driven by these channels.
冯瑶Five Channel Truths to Understand Before You Try to Sell
Channels include every participant that sells or delivers an offer; they can determine survival, reshape the product, create conflict, limit brand power, and must be managed as an efficiency system.
New DistributionMixue Bingcheng Bottled Water: Will It Repeat Its Tea Drink Glory?
In recent years, Mixue Bingcheng has been a dark horse in the tea drink industry. Since its IP upgrade in 2018, its performance has soared, surpassing 10,000 stores and then 20,000 stores within just two to three years, becoming the undisputed leader in chain tea shops. In contrast, the second-place Shuyi Shaocao has only 7,000+ stores, making Mixue the only brand with over 10,000 stores in the tea shop sector. Its store count continues to grow rapidly.
赵胜男Liu Chunxiong: Six Steps in the Digital Evolution of Traditional Enterprises
On October 10, at the 'bC Integration' parallel forum of the 2023 Fifth China FMCG Conference and the First China FMCG Distributor Conference, Liu Chunxiong, a channel digitalization expert, advocate of new marketing, and dean of the Marketing Digitalization Research Institute, attended as a guest. At the conference, Mr. Liu delivered a speech titled 'Six Steps in the Digital Evolution of Traditional Enterprises.' To this end, New Distribution has compiled the essence of Mr. Liu's speech (with deletions and modifications) for readers. How should we understand the current macro environment facing China's FMCG marketing? I...
刘春雄M&A Wave Rises in Snack Retail
Snack bulk retail chains are beginning to consolidate. Over the past two years, snack bulk retail stores have attracted huge attention, with their store counts growing at an explosive pace. Official data from some snack brands shows that Snack Youming opens an average of 4 stores per day, Snack Busy opens 6 stores per day, and Zhao Yiming opens over 200 stores per month. However, amid this rapid growth, mergers and acquisitions among major brands are intensifying, and the phenomenon of staking out territory is becoming more evident. On September 28, Wanchen Group announced the acquisition of the management team of Zhejiang snack brand Laoban Daren.
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